Alan Lloyd, professor of classics and ancient history at the University of Wales, Swansea, told BBC News Online: "The lion is a creature that has a long association with the king [of Egypt].

"The king was thought of as a lion and as having the qualities of a lion. The qualities the Egyptians were interested in, of course, were martial."

In the last few centuries BC, Egypt was under invasion by waves of outsiders, from Iraq, Nubia (which today comprises parts of Sudan and Egypt) and Greece.

The surge of interest in animal cults may be the ancient Egyptians' way of asserting their identity in the presence of these newcomers.

"I think this should be regarded as an expression of Egyptian nationalism," said Professor Lloyd.

Cats and dogs

Inscriptions suggest lions were bred in special animal precincts and buried in sacred cemeteries. But so far none has been found.

Professor Lloyd said he had heard rumours in the early 1970s of a mummified lion being found in Egypt. However, the person excavating the lion apparently was not interested in it and the location of the find was lost.

During the last few centuries BC, the site at Saqqara where the lion was buried was dedicated to the feline goddess Bastet.

The lion was found lying on a rock with its head turned north and its body orientated toward the east. Its bone measurements are amongst the largest ever recorded for a male lion.

In addition to cats, the Egyptians also mummified dogs, birds, snakes and monkeys.